General Question

What kind of counselor do you think she meant?

So, I participated in a veterinary leadership experience conference this past weekend (which focuses a lot on your EQ – emotional quotient). While talking to one of the presenters, I mentioned that in every empathy quotient “test” I’ve ever taken, my results indicate Asperger’s or high functioning autism. She seemed fascinated, and said that while there’s nothing “wrong”, I might want to talk to someone about that (I assume for “self exploration”). I’m curious, and in thinking about it, I realize I have no idea who the appropriate “someone” would be.

5 Answers

Most likely she meant you should seek out a psychologist.

My husband (very low EQ), has greatly benefited from working with a psychologist.

We sought out one that works specifically with Asperger’s and neuro-atypicals. I would not recommend you talk to anyone unfamiliar with neuro-atypicals. The help they give will be much less beneficial.

If you have an autism network in your local, see if they have a list of professionals to choose from.

Low empathy can be used to one’s advantage with the right tools. However, it can also be detrimental to not understand the emotions of others around you (the cause of much of my husband’s confusion and anxiety).

Right at what @SpatzieLover said. Most likely she meant a psychologist with training in those areas. If you are not alienating people right and left with your low EQ then you must be managing alright. If, on the other hand you find yourself in lots of conflictual situations you might benefit greatly from some counseling.

However, if I were you, I would look for someone who had a history of working with people with Aspergers. I’d want someone who understands the issues and could help prepare you for your career. They would identify issues you are likely to face (difficulties in dealing with pet owners, perhaps) and help you develop a toolkit of solutions for those problems.

But, there are tons of reasons why you could be coming up low on those EQ tests (like the one by Baron-Cohen). Things like having social anxiety, past trauma, introverted tendencies, feeling too much, preferring animals to humans because humans are too emotionally draining, etc, will all cause a person to get a low score. Because one of the things that makes autism autism is a lack of self-awareness in certain areas, tests that rely on the person’s perception of themselves are a really bad way to find out what’s going on there.